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UMN gets donations ranging from midges to mountain lions

From mountain lions to midges, possessions often donated to U By Anne MillerberndMinnesota Daily

Posted:
11/16/2013 12:46:24 PM CST

Updated:
11/16/2013 10:36:34 PM CST

"Mary Weisman," created by artist Duane Hanson, is a sculpture of the mother of Frederick Weisman, after whom the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis is named. The sculpture was donated to the museum by the Frederick Weisman Co. in 2000. (Minnesota Daily: Lisa Persson)

The Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis contains millions of dollars in paintings, sculptures and other works of art, and most of what it takes in each year is donated by artists and collectors.

Museum Director Lyndel King said the Weisman accepts 200 to 300 donations annually, as do other groups at the University of Minnesota that take nonmonetary donations.

King said some individual gifts have been valued at $15 million to $20 million. "But that's not the most important thing when we're looking at what to accept into a collection," she said.

The university received 916 such "gifts in kind" from July 1, 2012, to June 30 of this year for a total value of about $2.5 million, said Frank Robertson, senior director of planned giving for the University of Minnesota Foundation, which serves as the middleman in accepting gifts from outside donors. Any gift must have a purpose for the facility or department to which it's donated, he said. If a gift meets these requirements, the donor might be able to take a tax deduction.

"We're fortunate here because the university has such a broad mission that practically anything might qualify," Robertson said.

At the Weisman, gifts vary from teapots to a life-size sculpture of Frederick Weisman's mother.

Susan Weller, director of the Bell Museum of Natural History, said donors often approach museum leaders, offering donations of wildlife art, scientific specimens and preserved animals for the museum's Touch and See Discovery Room.

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About 15 years ago, the museum received a stuffed Kodiak bear.

Recently, it received a mounted mountain lion to replace an older lion that was worn out from being petted by visitors, Weller said. She said this type of gifts often comes from hunters who want to educate others about the animals.

"They want to see the history of Minnesota preserved," she said. "They've enjoyed learning about Minnesota's natural world, and so they somehow want to give back."

About five years ago, a leading entomologist gave the university about 83,000 small flies, known as midges, entomology professor Leonard Ferrington said.

The midges are from the late James Sublette, who wanted to donate them to an institution that had the necessary equipment to store them for future research, Ferrington said.

"The value is more in the scientific value, which in a sense is priceless because you can't put a price on that kind of knowledge," said Ralph Holzenthal, director of the university's insect collection.

The Entomology Department also received insect collections from Bethel University and St. Cloud State University, as well as a collection of more than 2 million specimens from the city of Detroit, Hozenthal said.

At University Libraries, people have offered book donations, but there hasn't been space to store them in recent years, said Charles Spetland, a collection development officer for the libraries.

But Kris Kiesling, director of the libraries' Archives and Special Collections, said most donations aren't books but manuscripts, illustrations or book memorabilia.

Typically, "gifts in kind" reflect the donor's relationship with the university, said Robertson, the director of planned giving.

"Many people don't realize that they can make a gift of anything other than money."